Side guard for beds



Nov. 5, 1957 J. G. DYETT ETAL SIDE GUARD FOR BEDS Filed May 12, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent fi) SIDE GUARD-FOR? BEDS James Gama; North Evans, andBo'yd Amer Buffalo, N. Y., as signors to Hard Manufacturing' -Company, Bulfalo, N. Y.

ApplicationMaylZ, 1954, Serial No. 429,252 2Claims.' (Cl; 331) of this invention=tor provide a sidetgu'ard'which can 'be easily attached to a bed, and'Which' iseasytooperate to shiftrthesideguard vertically infand out of'operativ'e position; -Another object is .to provide a side 'guardofthis type'with means of improved construction for'locKing "the side-3 guard in and releasing it from its upper: position.

Other objects and advantages .will beapparent fromthe following-description of one embodiment of'the:'invention and" the novel features. will be particularly: pbinted out hereinafter in' connection" with'the'. appended claimsi *Infitheaccompanying drawings: Fig; 1 is a-sideele'vation. of a bed providedwith aside guard and 'mountingttherefor'embodyingthis inventionf'and showing the side guard in its raised position:-

-Fig. 2 isa similar view thereof',zshowingfthe side guard in lowered position.

Fig; 3 is'a fragmentary sectionalfelevationthere bf; oifan e'nlarg'ed'sc'ale, on line'3"3,' Fig; :1. i

Fig. 4 is'a fragmentarylongitudinal elevation lt hereof, partly in section, on line"4'- 4-; Fig. 3.

Figs; Saand 6*are fragmentary-sectional plan vi'ews'tlrereofionlines 5-= 5:and6-6 respectively,of Fig. 3;

Fig. 7 isa perspective view of:an"ea1 for lug forusein releasably mounting a side guardfsupporting m'e'm'b'ef on a bed. I

Fig. 8 is aperspective'viewof'a socket member secured -toaibed ina position to-receive'the ear or-lugshovvfi in Fig. 7.

' The bed may beof' any usual 'or suita'ble constructio'ng being provided with the usual head'fr'a'rne including a pair'of upright legs 10 and a foot frame including-"upright' legs 11,

and 12'repr'e'sents the usuabsiderailswhith connecfthe any suitable or desired structurejb'ut"asiIIustratedfbyway of example, includesa main 'frame' member, preferably oftubula'r form-having an upper substantiallyhorizontal part 16 terminating in its opposite ends in downwardly extending parts or. ends 17. The side guard shown also includes two other longitudinally extending members 18 and 19, preferablyalso tubular,--arrange'd'-below the part '16 and in. spaced relation to each other and suitably se- "cured 'tothe downwardly extendin'g ends 17 of-the side guard. Theilower member'19 connects the lower ends of :the ends 17 of the side guard.

.Our improved structure for mounting the side? guard' 'on ga 'bed includes a pair ,of upright Channels or tracks "21 2,811,726 Patented Nov. 5, 1957 2 which may be formed, forexample, of sheets of metal bent intoapproximately tubular form except that -the longi tudinal edges do not meet, thus forming longitudinal openings or slots 22. One of theseguide channels; or tubes for each side guard is mounted on a-leg- -10-ofthe head frame of a bed. and the other is mounted on a leg 11 of the foot frame, these guide tubes being-mounted in such manner that-theslots 'of' these two tubes'face each other. These. guide tubes are removably mounted on the legs of: the bed ends to guide the side guard in its' up and down-movement, the side guard beingforthatpurpose provided with means extending through the-slots 22 for-movementwithin thehollow guide tubes -Whenfthe sideguard ism'oved up and down, and for securely holding the side guard'in correct relation to the bed. *For-example, the tubular member 18 0f the sideguard is provided at the'opposite ends thereof'with bushin'gs formed-t0 receive-threaded-bolts or pins 25-, which extend through'the slots 22 of the guide tubes-with the heads 28 of the bolts arrangedwithin the channels. Rollers 26-are' rotat-ably secured to the bolts within the guide channels orltubes. These rollers may be provided with recesses '27 intowhieh heads 28 of-the bolts 25 mayextendfor preventingdise'ngagementof. the-bolts with the rollers. The 'rollersare of considerably larger 'diameter'than the widths of the slots-22, and, -cons'equently,- asthe 'side guardis moved up and down,-these rollerswillmove within the guidetube tofacilitate the up and-down movement of the'side; guard and also 'act to preventthe bolts 25 from'becomingrdisengaged from the guidetubesZL The lower-tube- 19- "ofthe side guard is provided a opposite ends thereof with outwardly extending rods or pins 30 which also extend :through the slots 22- of the guide tubes and are connected with rollers 31 arranged within the: guide tubes-2L- These rollers may'be'of the same shape or construction as the rollers 26 and each rod-or pin 30 may alsobe provided witha disk or-washer 32 secured thereto and extending 'into the -hollow portion of the roller,:for-holding the roller on-thepin'.-

-Meansarealso provided'forlocking the side guard-in its upper position; and this is preferably accomplished by means of -the pin 30in the'lower tube19'of tl1e'fside guard. 'In'the constructionprovided forthi's purpose, the

pins 30 areslidablyarranged in the ends of the tube-19.

For example, thepins'mayextend throughsuitableaperfturedguide members arranged within the tube 19. 'These guide -members may, for example, be in' the form of U-shape'd parts 34*'having aperturesin the legs" thereof through which the pin 30'may-extend-,-'these guidemembers forithe pin-being held in the lower tubular member 19;for example, by means of screws 35. Two of' these guide members 54 are arranged in the lower tubular memberf1'9 in spaced relation to eachother. Each-pin30'is-urged outwardly from 'the tu'be 19 by'means-of'a coil springf36 vextending about apart-of the pin, this spring abutting at one end thereof against a disk or washer 37 suitably secured to=the pin 30 and bearing at its' other end against .oneof-the fixed guide members 34 for the pin. Anyother may'extend when the side guard is in its upper po'siti'o'n,

"thetube 19 urgethe pins 30 into'the hole's providedinthe guide tubes and each pin is also providedwith a finger piece orhan'dle 39secured to the inner end thereof and extending outwardly through a slot '40 in the lower tube 19 of the sideguard. Consequently, when the side. gua'rd'is raised and reaches' 'its upper position, theo'uter-ends' of the two pins-30 at opposite ends'of-thetubular member 19 will-f be urged by 'the springs 36 to enter the holes in the guide tubes, and thus hold the side guard in its upper or operative position. When it is desired to lower the side guard, it is merelynecessary to engage the two finger pieces or arms'39 and move the same toward each other againstithe action of the springs 36, thus withdrawing the pins 30 out of the holes in the guide tubes so that the side guard may be lowered.

In order to retain the rollers 26 and 31 in the guide tubes 21, the upper ends of the guide tubes may be closed, as indicated at 42, and thus also form a finished appearance of the upper ends of the guide tubes. The lower ends of the guide tubes are preferably each provided with a bolt 43 extending crosswise of the guide tube through suitable apertures provided therein and engaging with a nut 44. Preferably the bolt also extends through a short tube or sleeve 45 which may be made of rubber or other cushioning material. These resilient sleeves or 1 tubes 45 are contacted by the lower rollers 31when the side guard is moved into its lowest position, thus greatly reducing any noise which would result from the dropping of the side guard and also avoiding shock or annoyance to a person in the bed. The bolt also rein.- forces the lower end of the guide tube 21 and prevents widening of the slot 22. Any other means for closing the lower end of the guide tube and providing shock absorbing means for the side guard may be employed.

The guides 21 may be secured to the legs and 11 or desired manner. In the construction shown, an ear or lug 48 is provided, one of which is welded or otherwise secured to each guide tube 21 and which has a downwardly projecting tongue 49 formed thereon for cooperation with socket members 50 which may be secured to the legs of the head and foot frames of the bed in any suitable manner. In the construction shown by way of example, the socket members 50 are mounted on U-shaped parts 51 which may be welded or otherwise secured to the legs of the head and foot frames of the bed. 1 These socket members and their securing parts 51 are relatively small and inconspicuous and consequently, are not objectionable when permanently secured to ,a bed, particularly since they are arranged below the spring frame of a bed where they are practically out of sight, as clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

The upper portion of each guide tube 21 is releasably clamped or hooked to portions of the legs of the head and foot frames of the bed in any suitable manner; The clamping means shown by way of example, see particularly Fig. 5, include channel-shaped brackets 55, one of 'which. is secured to each guide tube with its legs extendabout a third side and are provided with outwardly extending substantially parallel ends 60, which are connected by a bolt 61, which extends through suitable slots in these two extensions 60 and is engaged by a thumb nut 62 for securely urging the two hinged mem-- bers toward each other. It is, of course, not necessary to press the two hinged hook members against the legs of the end frames, and consequently, stops 63 and 64 are provided to limit the extent to which the bolt 61 may swing the hinged hook members toward each other. Suitable pads 65 are arranged on the inner faces of the two hook members 58 and 59 and on the hinge member 56 in position to engage the sides of a leg of the bed so as to avoid rattling and marring the legs 10 and 11. Any other means for securing the guide tubes 21 to the bed endsmay, of course, be provided, if desired.

In applying the side guard to a bed, the earsor lugs 49of the two projecting tongues 48'of the guide'tubes are first inserted into the socket members 50 and the of the head and foot frames of a bed in any suitable hinged hook members 58 and 59 are then swung from the broken line position as shown in Fig. 5, into the full line positions and securely connected by means of the bolt 61. The guide; tubes will then be securely held in place on the bed. When it is desired to release the side guard from the bed, the hook members 58 and 59 are first released and swung into the broken line positions in Fig. 5, whereupon the two guide tubes 21 may be raised to disengage the tongues 49 from the sockets 30.

While only one side guard is described herein, it will be obvious that in most cases two side guards are employed, both of which may be identical. When the side guards are removed from a bed, only the socket members 49 and their fastening devices 50 will remain in place on the bed and this socket member, of course, may also, if desired, be removably mounted on a leg of a bed. The side guards include relatively few parts and are, therefore, comparatively easy to construct.

It will be understood that various changes in the details, materials, and arrangements of parts which have been herein described and illustrated in order to explain the nature of the invention, may be made by those skilled in the art within the principle and scope of the invention, as expressed in the appended claims.

We claim as our invention:

1. Aside guard structure for a bed having end frames provided with upright legs, comprising a side guard, a pair of upright guide tubes provided with slots extending lengthwise thereof and facing said side guard, parts on said side guard extending through said slots and into said tubes for guiding said guard in its up and down movement, and means for connecting said guide tubes to said legs, said connecting means including a socket mounted on each leg. and extending outwardly therefrom, a tongue on each guide tube formed to extend into said socket, a pair of hook members pivoted on each guide tube to swing in opposite directions into engagement with said legs, and means for releasably holding said hook members against swinging out of engagement with said legs, said hook members being spaced at a considerable distance from said tongue to hold said guide tubes in fixed positions spaced outwardly from said legs.

2. A side guard structure for a bed having end frames, comprising a side guard including a pair of longitudinally extending tubular members, a pair of upright guide tubes having slots extending lengthwise of said tubes, cooperating parts on said guide tubes and said end frames for supporting said guide tubes outwardly from said end,

frames with said slots facing said side guard, pins extending beyond the opposite ends of said tubular members of said side guard and through said slots of said guide tubes, rollers within said guide tubes rotatably mounted on said pins and guiding said side guards for up and down movement relatively to said bed, said guide 7 tubes each having a hole in the wall thereof opposite said slot, said pins of one of said tubular members being movable lengthwise of said side guard forpassing throughsaid holes, to hold said side guard in its upper position, yielding means within said tubular member for urging said pins outwardly with reference to said side guard into engagement with said holes in said guide tube, and finger pieces extending through a side of said tubular member for withdrawing said pins from said holes.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

